John Lewis, the department store group, has recorded its best-ever trading week, suggesting that Britain's shoppers are shaking off worries about the recession and splashing out on Christmas gifts.

The department store group said it had sold a record £102.4m worth of goods in the seven days to last Saturday – up 13.8% on the same week last year and 6% higher than two years ago. The figure was almost £1m more than the previous record set in 2007, and was the earliest time in the Christmas season that a figure of more than £100m had been recorded.

According to reports from its branches across the county, consumers had purchased furniture and furnishings in previous weeks and were now turning to buying presents and stocking up for Christmas at home.

The company's website, johnlewis.com, also experienced its highest weekly sales, significantly up on the previous record set just a week earlier.

Retailers had already reported a strong performance in November, according to a recent CBI survey, with sales growing at their fastest pace for two years as shoppers took advantage of the final weeks of reduced VAT. The CBI cautioned that 2010 may not be so bright, however, with VAT returning to 17.5% from 15% and underlying concerns about job security once the holiday is over.

Meanwhile, more shopping records are expected to be broken tomorrow, on what has become the biggest online shopping day of the year – so called "cyber Monday". John Lewis expects online sales of around £4.5m during the day, while overall cyber shoppers are forecast to spend a total of £350m – or more than £4,000 a second – up 10% on last year.

Much of the selling is expected to be done by office workers, with internet traffic forecast to peak between 9am and 10am, and then again during lunchtime. IMRG, an industry group that represents internet retailers believes internet sales now make up 10%-15% of total retail sales in Britain.

Stuart Rowe, chief operating officer of online retailer Play.com, pointed to what he believes is yet another reason for consumers making the decision to log-on, instead of trekking to the shops: "The wet and windy weather is no doubt an important factor as to why so many people are shopping online."

John Lewis said entertainment items, especially electronic games, were much in demand while traditional board games, such as Monopoly, also sold well. Toy sales at the group reached a record £4m last week, with Biscuit the animatronic dog, Sylvanian Families and the Gruffalo being among the most popular.

Nat Wakely, director of selling operations for John Lewis said: "With Christmas shopping seriously under way there is a clear trend for an indulgent family Christmas. It has been many years since we saw such strong sales in chocolates, candles and slippers."

Amazon has denied reports that it was considering opening its own stores in the UK, to offer a "bricks and mortar" service to customers. In a brief statement the online retailer said that: "We have no plans to open physical stores anywhere in the world."